Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Queen Of Hearts

I love to bake pies and when Williams-Sonoma released these pie molds last summer, well, I had to have them. Little pies, heart, star, apple or pumpkin shaped, couldn't be cuter. They're super easy and a fun toy worth the space they take up in my pastry counter. I made and rolled out the dough two days before I assembled them. One bonus of Chicago winters is the added freezer space the garage provides so they were easy to store.


I used some of the raspberries I picked last September. I gathered few simple pantry items to make up the filling. The cutouts are still a bit frozen here. Trial and error determined the pie dough needs to be cool room temperature. It'll crack if too cold, or stick if too warm. Buttering the molds helped a bit, too.

You don't, of course, need to have these space taking pocket mold to make cute little filled pies. Check out "save room for" in the February issue of Martha Stewart Living if you want more specific directions. I would cut the dough with a large cookie cutter of your choice. Proceed as with pie mold only use a bit of water on each crust edge to ensure a nice seal and gently press edges with a fork.

Place one piece of crust on the bottom of the mold. In this picture it's actually upside down - the pretty fluting should be on top crust. More trial and error I guess. I have a tendency to fill filled things with too much filling. I placed two moderately sized tablespoons into each pie hoping to prevent too much leaking.

I brushed on a bit of cream and sprinkled them with gobs of granulated sugar for sparkle.


They are adorable and super delicious. Wouldn't they the nicest treat for those you love on February 14th?

XOXOXO,
The Queen of Hearts

Summer Raspberry Pie Filling
annotated from Great Pies and Tarts
by Carol Walter


This is the filling recipe I made for these little hearts. There was extra that I put into ramekins and baked with a top crust of pie dough scraps. Equally delicious and easy, too.

6 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (if frozen, no syrup)
1 T. instant tapioca
3/4 cup sugar, or to taste
2-2 1/2 T. cornstarch
1 t. grated navel or Valencia orange zest
2 t. fresh lemon juice

Place berries in a large bowl. Toss with tapioca through orange zest until fruit is covered. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss again.

Fill and press pie cut outs. Brush with glaze of your choice and generously sprinkle with granulated or sparkle sugar.

Bake approximately 35 minutes at 375 degrees.

2 comments:

Georgine said...

I hope you love me! They look delicious. How was your weekend?

Emily said...

You are amazing!!!! These tarts look divine. I'm going to make the Meyer Lemon Rosemary Cake this evening with the kids. It was supposed to be an afternoon project, and I'm supposed to go to bed early...best laid plans, right?! Well, can't wait to try the recipe. I just started my own blog - I could only pretend to complete with those of your quality. It's "Irene and Grace." We'll see how it goes!

Thanks for the wonderful recipes!